Netserk said:Dauphiné is a prep race (sometimes), the others not so much...
Source for Quintana's illness in Tirenno?
Peraud and Quintana as the 2nd and 3rd strongest are better than Peraud and Pinot as 2nd and 3rd strongest. I hope you'll agree with that.
All of these 1 week stage races are prep races these days. Not a single serious GC rider peaks and goes really deep in them. Very few are prepared to take serious risks in these. Unlike the top classics and the Giro, Worlds and the Tour. Surely you understand that.
Quintana stated somewhere he had been suffering from allergies the entire spring, a condition which only corrected itself after the last rest day in the Giro, lol. Its from memory, you can discount the statement if you like.
On paper Quintana and Peraud are stronger than JCP and Pinot, but none of these peaked for TA. Only looked good on paper, not so much on the road.